Guide to hosting an outdoor party

This last year we’ve all spent a lot more time outside. But in this unpredictable English weather an outdoor party can quickly turn into a washout if you’re unprepared. Here are our top tips for hosting a great weather-proof party.

We’ve included practical tips, recommendations, and a wish list of things we would like!

Read more…

WIN! Tickets to Victorious!

Victorious is one of our favourite festivals and we have a family ticket for TWO adults and up to TWO children to give away!

Set on the Seafront in Portsmouth, it matches a fantastic location with an excellent line up and a Kids arena packed full of activities that’s like a festival in itself.

Check out our 2019 and 2018 reviews to see how much fun our reviewer and her family had there.

When: 27th-29th August 2021

Where: Southsea Seafront, Portsmouth

Tickets are on sale now: £120 weekend pass, day tickets from £35

Enter in the widget at the bottom of this page, a winner will be chosen at random after the closing date.

Victorious sunset stage
Read more…

Green Gathering Saving Families

Family holidays are without a doubt one of the largest contributors to most household’s annual carbon emissions. Even if you are a hardcore eco-warrior doing all you can daily to reduce your impact on the planet, when the summer holidays arrive it’s often hard to make low carbon plans.

In comparison to overseas holidays, choosing to spend time closer to home is obviously better for the environment. Camping is a relatively low impact choice providing you aren’t buying lots of equipment or single-use items, and good quality second-hand supplies are easy to come by. Festivals, however, are very rarely able to claim they are low-carbon due to the simple fact they are for such a short period of time, plus all the infrastructure and individual travel involved.

Green Gathering is different. One of a few UK festivals that can really make the ‘eco family festival’ claim, it is not only a super fun family holiday, it’s also leading the way in sustainable events.

Read more…

2021 Family Festivals and Camps

With summer holidays still so unknown and the list of what we can and can’t do changing daily, we thought we’d put together this little guide to 2021 small family festivals and camps you can book now. Hopefully, it will help with your summer plans.

Read more…

Our new festivals for 2020

It probably won’t come as a surprise that we absolutely love festivals. With the annual logistical juggle of multiple children, school holidays, and how long any of us can bear to be in a car together, it’s tempting to just pick a few favourites and return year after year.  

But, with so many festivals to choose from across the UK, the Festival Kidz team always try to peer out from our comfort zones and try something new. This may be a brand new festival in its first year or something that’s been on the wish list for a long time that we’ve not yet made it to.

Read more…

Best festivals for kids

festival kids in a field somewhereHere at Festival Kidz we’re always asked ‘what is the best family festival’? It’s almost impossible to answer as so much depends on what you are looking for out of a festival. What are the best festivals for kids? For some parents, it’s all about the line-up, whilst others seek relaxation and reconnecting with the great outdoors and their loved ones.

Whatever you are looking for, our Festival Kidz writers all agree on one thing. When the kids are happy, you’re happy.

So what do the real critics, our own children think? We asked them!

What are the best festivals for kids?

Read more…

Reading 1991 – My First Festival

Several of my friends’ kids are going to their first festival today. As local festival expert they asked me for advice and information, and I’m always happy to help.

Inevitably it got me thinking about my first festival. It was Reading Festival 1991, I was 17, and there were about 15 of us. Most crammed into an 8 man tent someone had borrowed off his brother, which took us over an hour to put up and didn’t seem to have enough poles. It had a separate groundsheet and didn’t seal up at the sides so one of our group rolled over one night and woke up outside. Read more…

Nozstock 2019 Review

This festival has become a favourite with our little family, and we had a brilliant time once again this year! Nozstock is set in the beautiful, rolling hills of Bromyard, Herefordshire on the first weekend of the school summer holidays in England.

Compared to some, Nozstock may be a fairly small festival, but there is nothing pint-sized about the variety of entertainment on offer.  There are 11 stages/zones offering a large variety of music, comedy, theatre, dance, film and plenty of activities for children of all ages.

King Kong Company

Read more…

Into The Boomtown Maze…

If you’re going to Boomtown for the first time this year, you might have heard about the Boomtown Maze. But do you know what it is or how to get round it?

If this is something you have been wondering, or if you want some inside information on The Maze this year, I have written this guide for you!

Read more…

Great Wonderfest – Revolutionizing Inclusion

On the whole, festivals are becoming more and more accessible. Festival Kidz have been happy to report that festivals are generally now providing carers’ tickets, accessible campsites, toilets, viewing platforms and more recently BSL interpreters and autism friendly sessions for certain activities. Great Wonderfest have clearly taken note, and for their first ever festival, have managed to take inclusion several steps further…

Read more…

Guide to hosting an outdoor party

This last year we’ve all spent a lot more time outside. But in this unpredictable English weather an outdoor party can quickly turn into a washout if you’re unprepared. Here are our top tips for hosting a great weather-proof party.

We’ve included practical tips, recommendations, and a wish list of things we would like!

Read more…

Green Gathering Saving Families

Family holidays are without a doubt one of the largest contributors to most household’s annual carbon emissions. Even if you are a hardcore eco-warrior doing all you can daily to reduce your impact on the planet, when the summer holidays arrive it’s often hard to make low carbon plans.

In comparison to overseas holidays, choosing to spend time closer to home is obviously better for the environment. Camping is a relatively low impact choice providing you aren’t buying lots of equipment or single-use items, and good quality second-hand supplies are easy to come by. Festivals, however, are very rarely able to claim they are low-carbon due to the simple fact they are for such a short period of time, plus all the infrastructure and individual travel involved.

Green Gathering is different. One of a few UK festivals that can really make the ‘eco family festival’ claim, it is not only a super fun family holiday, it’s also leading the way in sustainable events.

Read more…

Our new festivals for 2020

It probably won’t come as a surprise that we absolutely love festivals. With the annual logistical juggle of multiple children, school holidays, and how long any of us can bear to be in a car together, it’s tempting to just pick a few favourites and return year after year.  

But, with so many festivals to choose from across the UK, the Festival Kidz team always try to peer out from our comfort zones and try something new. This may be a brand new festival in its first year or something that’s been on the wish list for a long time that we’ve not yet made it to.

Read more…

Reading 1991 – My First Festival

Several of my friends’ kids are going to their first festival today. As local festival expert they asked me for advice and information, and I’m always happy to help.

Inevitably it got me thinking about my first festival. It was Reading Festival 1991, I was 17, and there were about 15 of us. Most crammed into an 8 man tent someone had borrowed off his brother, which took us over an hour to put up and didn’t seem to have enough poles. It had a separate groundsheet and didn’t seal up at the sides so one of our group rolled over one night and woke up outside. Read more…

Into The Boomtown Maze…

If you’re going to Boomtown for the first time this year, you might have heard about the Boomtown Maze. But do you know what it is or how to get round it?

If this is something you have been wondering, or if you want some inside information on The Maze this year, I have written this guide for you!

Read more…

WIN! Tickets to Victorious!

Victorious is one of our favourite festivals and we have a family ticket for TWO adults and up to TWO children to give away!

Set on the Seafront in Portsmouth, it matches a fantastic location with an excellent line up and a Kids arena packed full of activities that’s like a festival in itself.

Check out our 2019 and 2018 reviews to see how much fun our reviewer and her family had there.

When: 27th-29th August 2021

Where: Southsea Seafront, Portsmouth

Tickets are on sale now: £120 weekend pass, day tickets from £35

Enter in the widget at the bottom of this page, a winner will be chosen at random after the closing date.

Victorious sunset stage
Read more…

2021 Family Festivals and Camps

With summer holidays still so unknown and the list of what we can and can’t do changing daily, we thought we’d put together this little guide to 2021 small family festivals and camps you can book now. Hopefully, it will help with your summer plans.

Read more…

Best festivals for kids

festival kids in a field somewhereHere at Festival Kidz we’re always asked ‘what is the best family festival’? It’s almost impossible to answer as so much depends on what you are looking for out of a festival. What are the best festivals for kids? For some parents, it’s all about the line-up, whilst others seek relaxation and reconnecting with the great outdoors and their loved ones.

Whatever you are looking for, our Festival Kidz writers all agree on one thing. When the kids are happy, you’re happy.

So what do the real critics, our own children think? We asked them!

What are the best festivals for kids?

Read more…

Nozstock 2019 Review

This festival has become a favourite with our little family, and we had a brilliant time once again this year! Nozstock is set in the beautiful, rolling hills of Bromyard, Herefordshire on the first weekend of the school summer holidays in England.

Compared to some, Nozstock may be a fairly small festival, but there is nothing pint-sized about the variety of entertainment on offer.  There are 11 stages/zones offering a large variety of music, comedy, theatre, dance, film and plenty of activities for children of all ages.

King Kong Company

Read more…

Great Wonderfest – Revolutionizing Inclusion

On the whole, festivals are becoming more and more accessible. Festival Kidz have been happy to report that festivals are generally now providing carers’ tickets, accessible campsites, toilets, viewing platforms and more recently BSL interpreters and autism friendly sessions for certain activities. Great Wonderfest have clearly taken note, and for their first ever festival, have managed to take inclusion several steps further…

Read more…